t is difficult for me to reconcile what I read and hear about employee motivation and the importance of morale with what I see actually happening. I know that downsizing may be necessary when a company either lacks the skills to anticipate the marketplace or is just plain unlucky. What I don't understand is the callous way that staff reductions are frequently implemented. Telling a person he no longer has a job and then-as corporate policy-marching him out with an escort is less than what common decency dictates.

I have a friend, Hal, who left his job at a large manufacturing company to go to work for a financial institution's CIO, an exec who felt a burning need to whip his systems-development organization into shape. Since Hal is a great team player, he fully expected to be spending all of his evenings and weekends on the new job, going the extra mile until things were running smoothly. On the infrequent occasions when he and his girlfriend could spend an evening with Cindy and me, he would tell me about all the work that had to get done and how he was trying to shape people into the right mold.

I suppose I should have seen the warning signs when Hal told me that some of the other managers seemed more interested in their own agendas than in the overall good of the company. He always ended his discourses by saying that he had the support of his boss, who stayed above the fray but urged him, in private, to continue his efforts.

After a while, I began to cringe when he would make excuses for why his boss didn't step in and lend his support for Hal's initiatives. Because Hal and I are close, I expressed my opinion, but he told me I was misreading the situation.

Of course, the inevitable happened. After Hal had been in the job for about nine months, his boss called him into his office and explained that things were not getting done to the satisfaction of the executive group, and that while he personally supported Hal, he had no choice but to let him go. Hal was surprised. His boss went on to say that the company's pac

kage was quite generous, considering that Hal had been there less than a year, and was fully in keeping with what had been agreed upon in the initial hiring letter. Later, Hal told me that he was OK with everything up to that point; it was what came next that really hurt.

The boss, whom Hal looked upon as a friend and mentor, then introduced him to a representative from Human Resources who would help him pack up his belongings so that he could leave the building promptly. It was explained to Hal that it was best for employee morale, and in his own interest, that things be done that way.

Hal was in a state of shock. He said that he would like to say goodbye to some of his staff and wish them well, but he was told firmly that for security reasons and for everyone's comfort level, it was inadvisable. The HR representative said that since Hal was a senior manager, he should understand why he had to leave promptly.

It's been months, but Hal is still bitter. A few of his friends from the old job have called and even discussed with him the rumors as to why he was dismissed.

About the only good part, from Hal's perspective, is that several of these people are now looking for jobs, figuring if a senior manager can be treated that way, who knows what could happen to them. You would think that the company management could have figured out that scenario all by themselves. But no one ever said common sense is all that common.